The brief illness that showed its worst in a lengthy fit of sneezes has left me, and I am feeling restored to health. Nary a sneeze in sight, and no drippy nose, either. Hooray!
Also worthy of hooray is the phone call I received yesterday morning from our adoption agency. Before I tell you the hooray part, let me tell you why I was so happy to hear from them.
Last Friday afternoon a woman at our adoption agency (let's call her Claire) called and asked me if I had gotten our NYS child abuse clearance. Usually the clearance goes right to the adoption agency, and they wondered if we had received it for some reason and failed to let them know. We had not received the clearance. Claire suggested we try to contact the state department in charge of said clearance and find out why it was taking so long...most clearances take 3-6 weeks to receive, and ours had been out for eleven weeks. She and the other man in the office would work on it from their end, we would work on it from ours, and whoever had any type of success would call the other.
After allowing myself a moment's worth of panic I tried to find a phone number, an e-mail address, or any way to contact the state department but I had no luck. I hoped I would hear from the agency, or that they would receive the clearance over the weekend.
The importance of this clearance is huge in the long line of documents that are needed to adopt an international child. As I understand it, the state child abuse clearance (the missing link, in this case) must be sent along with a copy of our homestudy to the federal government as part of our I-600 application. the I-600 is our application for permission to bring an international orphan into the country as our child, and it is the paperwork that eventually results in Emma's visa. So, not having the state clearance holds up the whole shebang, and the beautiful little girl who will be our daughter grows older and more attached to her foster family while we pine for her on the other side of the world.
So yesterday the phone rings, the caller ID says "Name of our Agency" and I run to answer it. It is Claire, and she says our agency director would like to speak to me...can I hold? I hold and then the agency director's voice comes on the line and she tells me to grab a pen and paper. My heart jumps as she begins to tell me all sorts of details about our soon-to-be daughter...a well baby report! Hooray!
Here are my notes:
Well Baby Report December 26...4 months and two days old.
Takes slightly less than 5 oz. in bottle with a good sucking motion all at once. Burps well. Has one BM per day. Loves her bath and smiles the whole time. She goes to be between 10 and 11 each night and wakes at 6 am...she sleeps through the night. At 6 am she has a bottle, plays for about an hour, and then falls back asleep until 9am. She takes three naps per day, each about 1/2 to one hour long.
She is a very happy baby and smiles all of the time. She used to use a pacifier but gave it up on her own two weeks prior to the doctor visit. She drools a lot and may be teething. She sleeps with her foster mother on the floor (normal for Korea). She has a huge belly laugh when she is happy and has a very big smile.
She is trying to roll over but has not succeeded yet, and gets frustrated that she cannot roll over. She picks up toys and puts them in her mouth. She puts her whole fist in her mouth. She will bear weight on her legs. On her belly she lifts her head and chest. She is sometimes shy around strangers and will stare at people she does not know. She is adorable when she smiles, and has a very clear complexion.
November 24: Weight 12.6 lbs, Height 23.5 inches.
December 26: Weight 14.6 lbs, Height 24 inches.
Pictures should arrive soon!!!
After I spoke with the agency director, Claire asked if we had heard anything about our clearance and urged me to once again try to contact the state department in charge.
About ten minutes later our agency called me back and told me they finally got through to the state department, who said we were cleared the first week in October, but it must have been lost in the mail. They faxed a copy of the clearance and mailed a hard copy to our agency, so we're back on track. Hooray!
Any guesses as to how long it will be before she comes home? I think it could be as early as a month form now, but will probably take longer than that...so maybe the first week in March?
I'm so excited and happy right now!
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